Rutgers drops into tie for last place in Big East with 28-27 loss to South Florida

Willie J. Allen, Jr./St. Petersburg TimesBulls receiver Dontavia Bogan runs by Rutgers defensive back Brandon Bing for the score in the second quarter.

TAMPA, Fla. — The lasting image of Rutgers’ game tonight against South Florida — and maybe of a season on the verge of slipping away — is this: Offensive tackle Jacob Sims, all 290 pounds of him, flopping around before falling on fumble in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

That’s why the reeling Knights are suddenly looking at a 4-4 overall record, a 1-2 Big East mark and bowl hopes that are fading fast.

“I’m not even thinking about that,” coach Greg Schiano said.

That’s because he has enough other haunting thoughts to deal with following Rutgers’ 28-27 loss to South Florida at Raymond James Stadium.

The three up-for-grabs fumbles by the Bulls that were all recovered by South Florida, for instance — none bigger than Sims’ recovery in the end zone of running back Mo Plancher’s fumble that gave the Bulls their one-point advantage with 9:33 to play.

Or the botched screen pass that was blown up by USF nose tackle Keith McCaskill for a third-quarter safety.

Or the failed drive with Rutgers getting the ball on the Bulls’ 48-yard line with 5:56 to play, needing only a field goal.

That series ended after four quick downs with quarterback Chas Dodd, on a fourth-and-3, sacked for an eight-yard loss.

“It’s tough when you get as many chances as we did and you can’t come up with one (fumble recovery),” said cornerback David Rowe. “But that’s how it is sometimes. You see NFL Follies. The ball just goes anywhere.”

Rutgers did what it could to offset USF’s pass rush by going to a faster tempo and quick hitters in the passing game. That saved the beleaguered offensive line some sacks, but when it came time to protect Dodd in the crunch — or to clear the way for the running game — the unit failed again.

The Knights managed a meager 238 yards of offense — the second straight game they have failed to crack 240 yards.

The running game? Claude Rains was more visible. It produced 78 yards on 30 carries.

That meant that Dodd, who has engineered two fourth-quarter rallies to win games, would not get a third comeback notch on his belt.

“I think we just didn’t execute the way we had in previous games,” said Dodd, 19 of 22 for 139 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

Rutgers had a 17-14 second quarter lead in large part because its three-step passing game set up a play that saw Mohamed Sanu take a backwards pass from Dodd and fire a 21-yard touchdown to a wide-open Mark Harrison in the end zone.

Rutgers had a 24-17 lead on Joe Martinek’s one-yard TD run before the Bulls responded with a field goal and that safety to get within 24-22.

McCaskill was on Kordell Young the moment he caught the screen pass and dumped him two yards into the end zone.

“He ended up right where we were throwing the ball,” said Dodd.

Rutgers then saw a key drive stall in part because of a false start on Evan Lampert, settling for a field goal and a 27-22 lead. That set the stage for Plancher’s dive — and fumble —= into the end zone that Sims recovered (USF’s two-point conversion try failed).
Tom Luicci: tluicci@starledger.com